Josh Brolin on the green-screen stage at the wheel of the "Rodriguez-mobile." / Robert Rodriguez

by Brian Truitt, USA TODAY

by Brian Truitt, USA TODAY

Josh Brolin is looking more stylish than ever - and like a gritty comic-book character - courtesy of director Robert Rodriguez.

After a Twitter hiatus since December, Rodriguez took to social media Friday night to give fans a first look at Brolin in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the hard-boiled sequel to his faithful 2005 adaptation of stories from Frank Miller's Sin City crime-noir series.

Like the first, which was also co-directed by Miller, the new film is being shot entirely on green screen by Rodriguez in his Austin, Texas, movie studios, with the comic-book background - usually black and white, with frequent use of spot color - added digitally later.

In two tweeted photos Friday, Rodriguez showed himself working with Brolin on the green-screen stage driving a "Rodriguez-mobile" - which the filmmaker described as "a green box with a steering wheel bolted on" - and then a quick photo touch-up of Brolin he did to set the tone for the actors. (Rodriguez added that it "probably won't be raining in the final movie.")

Slated for release Oct. 4, A Dame to Kill For is based on Miller's award-winning second Sin City series of the same name in 1993. Brolin takes over Clive Owen's role from the first film of Dwight, a Basin City photographer who gets mixed up with femme fatale Ava Lord (Eva Green). (The first film eluded to Dwight's new face, a result of a violent incident in the comic book, so that could explain the change in actors.)

Mickey Rourke reprises his role as the brutish Marv from the first movie, and the sequel also features returning cast members Rosario Dawson, Jaime King and Jessica Alba as exotic dancer Nancy Callahan.

In addition to Brolin, other Sin City newcomers include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jamie Chung and Christopher Meloni.

"Having a BLAST making this movie," Rodriguez also tweeted. "Amazing cast, and they're all doing fantastic work."